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Leviathan Melbourne owner Lloyd Williams wants to turn the tables on the Europeans and target the 2010 Ascot Gold Cup with last year's Melbourne Cup winner Efficient.
Williams said it was his only international ambition and he believes Efficient, with his proven staying power, was the ideal type of horse for England's famous 4000-metre race.
"I would love to take Efficient over there for the Ascot Gold Cup," Williams told Fairfax Radio yesterday.
"He would be perfect for the Ascot Gold Cup because when they race over 21/2 miles (4000m) they need to be pretty clean-winded.
"I have had a lot of stayers over the past 30 years and he is the cleanest-winded horse I have ever had.
"He is absolutely a natural stayer."
Efficient was on target for today's Melbourne Cup until he broke down last week with a strained fetlock joint.
Williams said the injury cancels thoughts of taking Efficient to England next year but, with time, he would make a full recovery and the Ascot Gold Cup could be a reality in 2010.
Despite Efficient being sidelined, Williams still has two runners in the Cup: Zipping who has finished fourth in the Cup the past two year and another leading chance C'est La Guerre.
Williams admits to having a soft spot for Zipping but rates him as good a Cup chance as C'est La Guerre.
"These horses are in particularly good order and I don't think I would like to separate them," Williams said.
"I love Zipping. He has been a very honest horse for me.
"C'est La Guerre is the unknown. He is a New Zealand Derby winner.
"I think they will both run well. I couldn't have them in better order.
"We had a bad week with Efficient but these two horses will have no excuses."
Williams revealed he and his son Nick have Nom Du Jeu's trainer Murray Baker to thank for their purchase of C'Est La Guerre.
The Williams dynasty bought the horse soon out of Wanganui trainer Kevin Myers' stable last winter for a figure believed to be about $1.3 million. Myers was one of the previous owners.
Nick Williams made the decision to buy, even though he had not seen C'Est La Guerre's easy four-length win in the New Zealand Derby on a heavy Ellerslie track in March.
"I have Murray Baker to thank for it. After Nom Du Jeu won the Australian Derby [in April], he said 'thank God Dummy Myers did not bring his horse over here because he would have lapped us'.
"So I got on the NZTR [New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing] website and had a look at the video of his runs."
He was impressed, so rang Graeme Rogerson, Lloyd Williams' former trainer.
"I told Rogey we better get on to this Dummy Myers and buy this horse."
Williams said he reminded Rogerson, the New Zealander who runs stables in Waikato and Sydney, that after Efficient's win in the Melbourne Cup for them last year, Rogerson had said he was going to return as a cup-winning owner not the trainer.
"I said I reckon I have found the horse on these replays for you do that, you better go and buy it and we will put in all our mates and have a go and win the Melbourne Cup."
Williams said that while C'Est La Guerre was a superior stayer on very wet tracks, "as long as the sting is out of the ground he will be fine".
The track was rated dead and while rain fell in Melbourne on Sunday night and yesterday morning, Flemington track manager Mick Goodie said he did not think it would have any effect on the track.
"It would only be affected if it rained tomorrow," he said.
* C'Est La Guerre attracted little interest at $21 at yesterday's traditional Call of the Card.
Irish mare Profound Beauty was heavily supported and bookmaker Con Kafataris backed the mare at A$8 to win A$2 million ($2.33 million) but was forced to split the bet into three lots with no bookie willing to risk the whole amount.
- NZPA
